On Tuesday, June 11th, the New Jersey Economic Development Authority (NJEDA) will hold its monthly board meeting in Trenton. Among the actions to be taken, the Board will consider four (4) applications under the Grow New Jersey Assistance Program (Grow NJ). If approved, the four applicants could receive over $39,000,000 in tax credits (over 10 years). The Board will also consider four (4) applications under the Film and Digital Media Tax Credit Program, totaling over $6,000,000 in tax credits under the newly-created incentive program geared towards attracting film and television production to New Jersey.

Created under the Economic Opportunity Act of 2013, the Grow New Jersey Assistance Program (Grow NJ) is the State’s main job creation and retention incentive program. Under the Grow NJ program, businesses creating or retaining jobs in the State may be eligible for tax credits ranging from $500 to $5,000 per job, per year; with bonus credits ranging from $250 to $3,000 per job, per year (awards vary based on applicable criteria). The Grow NJ program has been wildly popular and incredibly successful. Since its implementation, over 250 projects have received awards, totaling over $4.7 billion in tax credits. Approved applicants generally have three years to certify, or complete, a project. A project is deemed complete when the applicant has hired or retained the number of employees listed in its application, and satisfied the program’s capital investment requirements. Once certified, the 250 projects will drive over $4.5 billion in private capital investment, create over 32,000 new jobs, and retain over 35,000 jobs at risk of leaving the State.

Created by legislation passed earlier this year, the Film & Digital Media Tax Credit Program will allow for taxpayers (in most cases, production companies) to seek a tax credit for qualified film production and digital media content production expenses. Applications will be approved by the New Jersey Economic Development Authority (NJEDA) and the Director of the Division of Taxation in the Department of the Treasury. Approved applicants are entitled to claim a credit against CBT or GIT liability in an amount equal to 30 percent (35 percent in limited cases) of the qualified film production expenses or 20 percent (25 percent in limited cases) of the qualified digital media content production expenses.

If interested in learning more about these or other economic development incentive programs, please do not hesitate to contact Chris Murphy at (973) 723-7036 or cmurphy@murphyllp.com.